Egypt's new finance minister faces daunting task

, July 15, 2013

By Patrick Werr

Egypt's new finance minister is a US-educated economist who will need all his training to help pull his country out of an acute financial crisis aggravated by renewed political turmoil.

Ahmed Galal, managing director of the Cairo-based Economic Research Forum since 2007 and for 18 years a researcher at the World Bank, said he had accepted the post of finance minister in the army-backed government of Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi.

The budget deficit has widened dangerously over the last few months, pushing Egypt close to bankruptcy as it runs out of sources of finance. Economists say $12 billion in aid offered to Cairo by Gulf states last week will last only a few months unless new revenue is found or spending is slashed.

Economists expect the budget deficit to have swollen to about 15 percent of gross domestic product in the financial year that ended on June 30.

Galal, Egypt's sixth finance minister in less than three years, will struggle to convince his angry compatriots to accept economic austerity after 30 months of political chaos that has pushed many of them into poverty.

Those familiar with his academic work say it has focused not just on economic growth but on ensuring that the poor benefit.

"Dr Galal describes himself as an 'eclectic' economist. He has been a long and firm believer in the importance of inclusive growth and education in contributing to inclusion and competitiveness," said Amina Ghanem, a former deputy finance minister.

"Fiscal policy for him would not be a budget deficit number, it would be about growth, empowerment and human development," said Ghanem, who served under four finance ministers until shortly before Mohamed Mursi was elected president in mid-2012.

The army ousted Mursi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, on July 3 after millions of Egyptians poured into the streets to protest against the Islamist president and his government.

Galal received a doctorate in economics from Boston University in 1986 after graduating in business administration from Cairo University.

During his 18 years as an economist at the World Bank he concentrated on the Middle East and North Africa. He later headed two Cairo-based think-tanks, the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies and the Economic Research Forum.

MARKET ECONOMICS

In a July 2011 ERF paper, Galal said competitive markets should be allowed to allocate resources, improve production and encourage innovation, but should be regulated to prevent anti-competitive behaviour and promote a more egalitarian society.

"Markets do not function in a vacuum and generally do not produce the best outcomes for society on their own," he wrote. "Safeguards are necessary to protect consumers from exploitation and ensure that workers have the right to decent working conditions and fair pay."

Galal took the last government of Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in a popular uprising in early 2011, to task for carving out special deals to please its supporters, such as land allocations and large contracts.